GEOFF GAN
July 28th, 2011
Geoff Gan is a Jacksonville, Florida local that I met through some mutual friends. I first noticed him at a Charlie Walker (local Jax Beach musician) show filming the performance and I didn’t pay much attention to it until I saw the results of his shoot on facebook. I was quite impressed by it and sent him a friend request… We ended up knowing a lot of the same people, seeing each other at gigs, but never really exchanged words.
It took some time before we finally approached each other in person but I am happy it finally happened. One video posted on facebook really caught my eye which he and his friend filmed out of boredom. It’s funny sometimes, because you just don’t ever know when something you did, no matter how small or silly you might think it is, actually affects someone in a way you don’t expect. I am a fan of his work, and hopefully we’ll be able to see more of his projects posted on this site!
Here is a link to his company based out of Austin, Texas where he now resides:
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Interview conducted on August 29th, 2011
I recently sat down and had a Skype interview with local filmmaker, Geoff Gan. Less than an hour long, I was able to rack his brain on a professional and personal level. Here are the results 
Oh and by the way, before I started asking questions, Geoff noticed and commented on my LOUD SILENCE shirt, so be sure to check out the brand if you haven’t already. Shop loudsilence.storenvy.com to see what all that is about.
MONZSENSE: What is your “official” job title?
GEOFF: On paper, I guess I’m a director, writer, co-owner of Scotch Rocket. But I’m more of a collaborator, I feed off of other peoples’ ideas and creativity. I don’t mean like, stealing ideas, but working together with other people to make something.
MZS: How did you get into this line of work?
GEOFF: It started when I was about 15, when I got my first camera. I just love shooting people (with the camera), and I went to Full Sail so it just went from there.
MZS: How old were you when you realized this is what you wanted to do?
GEOFF: (like mentioned in the previous question) About 14 or 15.
MZS: What is your MOST and LEAST favorite part of your job?
GEOFF: Most favorite part, it’s never the same. Least favorite, I’m not sure, can we skip and get back to that?
MZS: What would you say is the highlight of your career thus far?
GEOFF: Getting to collaborate with people I’ve sort of looked up to, and meeting A LOT of people. Not just people in the industry, but meeting new people all the time.
MZS: Who are some of your favorite local artists (in any city) that you like to work with?
GEOFF: Of course, Charlie Walker, Jordyn Jackson, Nate Holley, John Earle, they’re all great people to work with (all Jax local musicians). Charlie Mars from New York, he’s good too.
MZS: What U.S. city would you say has the most interesting things to see that people are not commonly exposed to in movies or on TV (unlike places such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Honolulu)?
GEOFF: Jacksonville, obviously. But Fayetteville, Arkansas is also an interesting place. I have a friend that lives there and I plan on going down there and shooting like in a canoe or hiking up the mountains. It’s a really nice place.
MZS: Have you shot any projects outside of the country?
GEOFF: No.
MZS: What country would you be most interested in shooting in?
GEOFF: Aside from shooting back home in the Philippines, I’d like to do something in Iceland.
MZS: What is your ultimate career goal?
GEOFF: Well, my short term goal is just to focus on music videos. But my ultimate goal would be to do documentaries, that’s why I got into this whole thing in the first place, was to shoot about what I know and share that knowledge with others. Because then, whoever learns from it can eventually share that knowledge with someone else, and then so on…
MZS: Now here’s some more “personal” questions… What are your pet peeves?
GEOFF: Um, I don’t really have any… I don’t know, I don’t like when people talk during movies. That’s sort of typical though, right? I’m really not sure. I don’t complain much, so not a whole lot bothers me. Oh yeah, I don’t like when people stick their fries in their frosties. It kind of makes me want to grab their frosty and throw it across the room. I know, that’s weird. But other than that, nothing else really gets to me.
MZS: (laughing at his answer) I actually do that. But now I know not to. What three things can you not go a day without?
GEOFF: Coffee, guitar, and phone.
MZS: Who is the first person you call when something BIG happens?
GEOFF: I don’t know. Whoever’s around at the time, I guess. I talk a lot to my best friend Victoria in Cali , I call her whenever there’s some thing coming up or whatever.
MZS: What’s your love life like (do you find time to date, what do you generally look for in a partner)?
GEOFF: Uh, non-existent. I know that’s kind of sad to say. I’ve got to get myself together first before I can influence a girl’s life. I generally look for someone who is smart, funny, can carry a conversation… all the typical stuff. I’m into musicians, I don’t know why. If Adele was available, I would marry her. (LOL)
MZS: What are some of your other interests aside from film?
GEOFF: Literature, History/Discovery Channel, Nature, Traveling, Soccer…
MZS: Playing or watching soccer?
GEOFF: Both, but I’m better at watching it than playing it.
MZS: (laughs) Ok, so how do you think your closest friends would describe you?
GEOFF: Hold on, let me ask this guy… (gets up and asks his friend, I can hear a little in the background) Honest? Well, I don’t know about that. No, not gay! Do you mean the old fashioned sense of the word meaning happy? Goofy. Yeah alright. (sits back down) He says goofy.
MZS: Ok, that was sort of cheating, you asked him what he’d actually say, but I want to know what YOU think they would say about you.
GEOFF: Oh sorry, I don’t know… (jokingly) PERFECT? (laughs) Simple. Not a complainer, that’s something I’m proud of. Easy like Sunday Morning. (begins to break out into song)
MZS: Do you speak any other languages?
GEOFF: Tagalog. I wish I could speak Spanish, it would help living in Texas.
MZS: Does being a part of the “Asian Culture” affect the direction that your career is going at all?
GEOFF: Well, the Philippines, it is still considered a third world country, so I want to use this to give back. It’s definitely influenced me in a big way. I want to try and use this to make somewhat of a difference.
MZS: What charity (or charities) do you feel like could use MORE support?
GEOFF: Right now, the Hurricane Irene Relief, to help all those affected by it up north. Globally, clean water. Mycharitywater.org helps out a lot with that, providing clean water for everyone around the world. Everyone needs water. You need it more than food. I don’t know if Jordyn (Jackson) has mentioned this, but when she first launched her charity water campaign, I had offered to match however many birthday greetings I got towards a donation. So after counting the greetings, all the proceeds were donated to her campaign to provide clean water.
MZS: Anything you would like to add for monzsense.com readers? Advice? Words of wisdom? Local artists to look out for?
GEOFF: Advice? Go out and check out the art and music for yourself. Go to Artwalk. Turn off the computer for a bit and support local artists. Also, for the website, maybe have a place where people can write their own stuff and contribute. Maybe start up a food blog where people can write reviews on restaurants around town. Local artists to check out? In Cali, there’s a singer named Lykke Li and a rapper called King Fantastic. Shout out to my bromance, Charlie Walker. Closing statements… “Make your own luck”. Oh, and what is that saying? “Good things come to those who wait”? Yeah, I think that’s a bunch of BS, “GREAT things come to those who WORK!”…yeah, or something, I don’t really know how that goes…
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Hahaha! So there you have it! The guy isn’t as familiar being in front of the camera as he is behind it, so it might be a while before you’ll be able to see pics of him here!
Check out Geoff’s work on www. scotchrocket.com
Videos filmed by Geoff can also be found on youtube or on his facebook.
follow him on twitter @GeoffreyGan
THANKS FOR READING, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS!!!